DEFECATION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does defecation mean? 

• DEFECATION (noun)
  The noun DEFECATION has 1 sense:

1. the elimination of fecal waste through the anus

  Familiarity information: DEFECATION used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DEFECATION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The elimination of fecal waste through the anus

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Synonyms:

defecation; laxation; shitting

Hypernyms ("defecation" is a kind of...):

elimination; evacuation; excreting; excretion; voiding (the bodily process of discharging waste matter)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "defecation"):

bm; bowel movement; movement (a euphemism for defecation)

haematochezia; hematochezia (passage of stools containing blood (as from diverticulosis or colon cancer or peptic ulcer))

dump; shit (a coarse term for defecation)

urochesia; urochezia (passage of urine from the anus)

Derivation:

defecate (have a bowel movement)

 Context examples 

The material discharged from the bowel during defecation.

(Feces, NCI Thesaurus)

Researchers in the United Kingdom established that poor hygiene by humans, specifically insufficient hand washing after defecation, is especially responsible for the spread of antibiotic-resistant — superbug — strains of Escerichia coli (E. coli) bacteria.

(Wash your hands or else spread superbug E. coli, say scientists, Wikinews)

It is used for occasional constipation, in pre- and postoperative treatment, and in conditions that require facilitation of defecation.

(Bisacodyl, NCI Thesaurus)

These interactions play a role in signal transduction, which influences bodily functions including salivation, lacrimation, urination, digestion and defecation.

(Muscarinic Receptor Binding, NCI Thesaurus)

Both muscles unite and insert at the apex of the coccyx to form the pelvic floor supporting the pelvic viscera and aiding in defecation.

(Levator Ani, NCI Thesaurus)

High open-field defecation (2/12, males, 3/12 females) and low ambulation (11/12), Harrington (1972).

(A990, Rat Strain, NCI Thesaurus)

Also called defecation.

(Bowel Movement, NCI Dictionary)